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Flood Closes Oakland Unified School District Building

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OAKLAND (CBS SF) — Employees arriving for work at the Oakland Unified School District’s administration building Tuesday morning discovered that the building had been flooded overnight, a school district spokesman said.

The flooding occurred after a faucet was left on in a janitor’s closet on the fourth floor, causing damage to all four floors of the building, located at 1025 Second Ave. near Lake Merritt, district spokesman Troy Flint said.

The building will be closed at least for the rest of the week for repairs, but whether it will remain closed longer depends on the extent of the damage, which is still being assessed, Flint said.

Roughly 1,440 gallons of water was released into the building overnight, Flint said, with about 3 gallons of water per minute flowing for about eight hours.

The damage varies in different parts of the building, with the ceilings and floors nearing collapse in some areas, while others had only light flooding.

Most district employees worked from home Tuesday, and the district is in the process of making short-term arrangements at other sites so employees can return to work, Flint said.

A board of education meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday will be moved across the street to the Great Room of the newly constructed La Escuelita Education Complex.

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